Washington: It Costs More To Buy Votes

It Costs More To Buy Votes

When lobbyists spent a record $60.9 million in 1986 trying to get Congress to vote their way, it was largely to influence tax reform. Last week House and Senate records disclosed that the cost of lobbying had climbed even higher in 1987, to $63.6 million. The biggest spender ($2.9 million) was the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, which has frequently intimidated the elderly into donating even when no one was attacking their benefits. Ranking third ($2.55 million) was Philip Morris U.S.A., which successfully opposed hikes in tobacco taxes. But what was second, at $2.56 million? Common Cause, the...